Q: Watching the recent Summer Olympics and seeing elite athletes from around the world with single-minded focus and high success has made me question whether we are parenting all wrong in middle-class America. We are so preoccupied with having our kids become well-rounded that we enrol them in endless music lessons, sports teams and clubs, but to what end? I'm just not convinced that childhood busyness will help them achieve adult success. What if we are raising a generation of kids who are "jacks of all trades but masters of none"?A: Watching so many young people who've made extraordinary commitment can fool us into believing that if any child made that much commitment they would automatically arrive at extraordinary success. For every one Olympian who ascended to the stage to receive a medal, there are thousands who aspired to Olympic participation who, even after investing great effort, did not qualify for the games. Every year, 4.1 million children are born in the US; 208 Americans earned medals in London's Olympic Games 2012. Although teaching environments can always enhance children's talents in many areas, only a tiny percentage will emerge with extraordinary talent.For most of us mere mortal families, it's wise to expose our children to a variety of activities so they can discover their interests and skills. Although for some children, their abilities show themselves early and thus can be addressed early, most children and adolescents have to do quite a lot of exploring to find their one special interest and uncover their talents.Childhood busyness has great value. It permits children to understand their strengths and abilities and build their confidence. It helps children to learn social skills and decreases the likelihood they'll be attracted to high-risk activities such as alcohol and other drugs. Healthy activities keep children physically and mentally fit, and often guide them toward identifying careers that they may pursue for their livelihood and recreational activities they will enjoy throughout life.While we can only admire the wonderful young people who have sacrificed much to commit to the single-minded focus that has brought them success, targeting such extraordinary success for most children would only cause pressure and frustration. Surely the Olympic values of hard work and perseverance can help every child develop his or her talents, but I would not advise parents to assume that high praise and hours of lessons will result in gold medals. It would be better to be assured that hard work and perseverance can lead to school success, which in turn can lead to fulfilling careers and reasonably happy family lives. For those goals, encouraging a variety of activities is probably more helpful.Incidentally, for those students who are not engaged in activities, screens provide a magnet for unhealthy passivity. While there is a small risk for hyper-scheduling kids, they are psychologically and physically healthier with quality busyness than screen and technology overload.For free newsletters about extra-curricular activities, sports, and/or "Growing Up Too Fast" (Rodale, 2005) send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for each newsletter to address below. Dr. Sylvia B. Rimm is the director of the Family Achievement Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, a clinical professor of psychiatry and paediatrics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the author of many books on parenting. More information on raising kids is available at www.sylviarimm.com.